October 2, 2026
ALBANY, Ga. — What do homemade gingerbread cookies, sparkly pens, and pearls have in common? They were all gifts that were given at Sherwood Baptist Church's Cultivate conference for women on Sept. 19 and 20 in Albany.
Organizers succeeded in cultivating an exciting and warm atmosphere among the women before, during, and in between sessions.
The worship was engaging and Spirit-filled. The speakers were well prepared and thorough. Attendees were given a workbook to take notes from each main session, and there were different breakout sessions to choose from.
Proverbs 31:10 says, “An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her? Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls. (AMP)” In keeping with this theme, Sherwood also gifted each woman with real pearl earrings.
Brea Gotthardt, women's ministry leader and wife of Sherwood's pastor, Paul Gotthardt, did something interesting when she spoke to all the women in the sanctuary. She rolled out a cart with her Kitchen Aid mixer and all the ingredients to make gingerbread cookies. She even put on an apron! She talked about how being a virtuous woman is about more than one thing. It requires many different “ingredients.” Gotthardt shared, “An excellent woman is multifaceted. She is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous. She finds her value in God, and she has purpose and integrity.”
In a culture that is constantly bombarded with the world’s message to women through social media, television, and magazines, it was refreshing to hear a challenge given to women about "The Value of an Excellent Woman."
Gotthardt talked about the process of becoming an excellent woman. It requires renewing our minds with new neuropathways. This is done by combating our thoughts with Scripture and realigning our way of thinking and living with the Word.
The second main speaker was Susan Sanders, who brought a message titled "The Wellspring of Wisdom: Handing Down Truth to the Next Generation." Sanders discussed the source of wisdom found in Proverbs 2:1-2, reasons to seek wisdom (Proverbs 2:6-8), and the results of wisdom from Proverbs 2:9-22. Her key passage was Proverbs 31:26 which says, “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. (NIV)”
The last main speaker was Stephanie Bennett, the women's ministry consultant for Georgia Baptist Women, who talked about "Beauty and the Fear of the Lord." Bennett used Proverbs 31:30 (“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” NIV) to remind listeners that “beauty is a moving target and it is temporary, but the fear of the Lord is not a moving target. A woman who fears the Lord knows God, trusts God, obeys God, and honors God.”
The mission project during the conference was to wrap Bibles to distribute to a pregnancy center. Each Bible was wrapped with a card with quick references to verses on anxiety, hope, etc., with the page number from that Bible beside the topic, as a way to make Bible reading easy for someone who may not be familiar with it.
The conference featured a vendor area in the foyer, which included a local pecan company and one featuring handmade earrings.
In addition, a prayer wall was set up as a beautiful display where attendees could write their own prayer requests on a card and take home someone else’s prayer requests to pray over.
The conference provided women with a lovely time of fellowship, encouragement, worship, hearing the Word, and feeling loved and valued.
Recordings of the main sessions and breakouts are available on the Cultivate website. Mark your calendar for Cultivate 2026, which will be held Sept. 18-19, 2026.
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